On Oct. 8, the Living Writers Series at Oswego State invited Ryan Van Meter, author of “If You Knew Then What I Know Now.”

Through his presentation, Van Meter educated aspiring writers on the themes in his work, emphasizing how they can take the time in the smaller moments of life and, by enriching those memories, enhance their writing abilities.

Van Meter started with a story about his time in a burrito shop where he took the time to watch people going about their own business and did what he referred to as “people watching.”

The students of the class were asked to read his book, which takes the form of a collection of essays that chronicle his life growing up as a gay man. He discussed the smaller moments of his life that, while at the time seemed moot and uninteresting, had major ramifications on the man he became.

He stressed these moments are the ones that led him to adopt his writing style and outlook on life. Intermixed with plenty of jests and comments about burritos, his conversation had taken on a lot of the qualities of that his writing is known for.

With around 100 students having read Van Meter’s book, he was given the opportunity to speak with them on a more personal level. Creative writing major and junior Damian Campana said he was enticed by the way Van Meter brought his personality to the stage.

“Even in his presentation, he was a writer,” Campana said.

Campana went on to discuss the many things that the story taught him about writing. He said he is thankful for the Living Writers Series, as it introduced him the book he came to like and would have never heard of the series without the class.

Nicole Powers, a senior double majoring in English and creative writing, also attended.

“I really like creative nonfiction in general, so I really enjoyed [his book],” Powers said.

In particular, Powers said she resonated with his essay, “Things I Will Want to Tell You on our First Date But Won’t” where the narrator talks about various topics that would ruin his date but he wishes they knew, ranging from admitting how long it has been since his last date or disclosing his concerns about names that were too similar.

“I was writing a lot of breakup poetry. That when I searched for ‘gay breakup books’ on Amazon.com, the first result was ‘Cowboys: Erotica Tales,’” Van Meter said.

Powers said that the way he wrote the essay was honest and beautiful because he was not afraid to be honest about who he was.

She praised this by highlighting the way he uses his words to disclose the human condition. 

In his closing thoughts, Van Meter provided advice to young writers on how to take those smaller, sillier and forgettable moments and turn them into fuel for creative passions.

He advised students to take their eyes off their phones and search for context in moments that they might not be focused on to search for subtext and metaphors where seemingly none exist.

“Always be a microphone. Be a camera instead of relying on some other device to be your camera. [That way], you are fully experiencing life… Later on, the moments might be meaningful to you are available,” he said.

Van Meter said that a large theme in his story was being oblivious to growth and how the major moments in one’s life do not superimpose themselves with dramatic flair and a fade to black, but hit people after they realize the impact the moments had on them.

He also implored young writers to not only read good stories for themselves, but also to go back to those same stories that inspired them and keep digging deeper for meaning in the book and themselves.

“You can do good practice for noticing the small and noticing the elusive by reading a lot, but especially re-reading… That is where I find that I practice that search for the metaphorical,” Van Meter said.

Photo by Stephen Novak | The Oswegonian